Swimming aid



July 5, 1966 Q GOQDWIN ET AL 3,258,794

SWIMMING AID Filed June 1, 1964 INVENTORS. 04194 4. 6000 W//\/ United States Patent 3,258,794 SWIMMING AID Carl L. Goodwin and Carl H. Goodwin, both of Bay Village, Ohio, assignors to Automotive Development Co., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed June 1, 1964, Ser. No. 371,578 Claims. (Cl. 9-307) The present invention relates to devices for use by swimmers and, more particularly, to hand-mounted and carried devices especially intended for use in underwater swimming.

Underwater swimming, exploring and working by swimmers equipped with or without breathing apparatus provides a degree of enjoyment, utility and performance limited, at least in part, by the swimmers need for greater mobility in and through the water. The primary object of our invention, therefore, is to provide apparatus or a device or a swimming aid for increasing a swimmers underwater mobility.

A swimmers underwater mobility may be increased by providing him with apparatus adapted to make his arms a more effective propelling means. There are many known paddle-like devices adapted to be strapped, grasped, gripped or otherwise fastened to and mounted on the hand of a swimmer in order to increase the hands effective area of interaction with the water. Few, if any, of these known devices are specifically designed for, or even intended to be used for, underwater swimming. Most employ some means for making the apparatus buoyant and, to this extent, are more of a handicap than an aid to underwater swimming. Many are quite thick or long and unwieldy and suitable only for return strokes or swimming motions over the surface of the water and not underwater.

Hand-mounted paddle-like devices intended for use in aid of underwater swimming should have a nearly neutral buoyancy in water. If too light and buoyant or if too heavy, underwater swim-ming with the apparatus requires an unnecessary expenditure of arm strength in order to overcome the natural tendency of the apparatus to rise or fall in the water. Also, since the apparatus is intended primarily for use under the surface of the water, it must have a configuration which permits an attitude affording high resistance to movement through the water and an attitude affording low resistance to movement through the water. Thus, the apparatus is able to have a large area of interaction with the water when employed to pull the swimmer in a desired direction and as small an area of interaction with the water as possible during the return stroke or swimming motion or when the apparatus is to be moved through the water without exerting any intended force on the swimmer. Of course, the change between the high and low resistance attitudes should be able to be accomplished easily and quickly.

Often, the nature of the swimmers activity under water or the attention he is required to give to his underwater breathing equipment makes it highly desirable that swimming apparatus attached to the swimmers hands be able to be easily and quickly removed and replaced and that the apparats is able to be removed and replaced on either hand independently of aid from the other and with a minimum of visual reference. It is preferable that each paddlelike apparatus fit both hands equally well.

Since the swimming apparatus is to be removed and subsequently replaced on the swimmers hands while he is under water, a place must be provided for putting the apparatus when it is not being worn. The means for and manner of holding or storing the apparatus ideally should permit each hand to store and recover its associated apparatus independently of help from the other hand.

In short, hand-mounted propelling devices for use in 3,258,794 PatentedJuly 5, 1966 underwater swimming must be highly eflicient in performing their desired work in order to conserve the underwater swimmers precious strength. The swimmer must be able, while underwater, to get his hands free of the devices extremely quickly, simultaneously and without help from the other hand. When not in use, cooperating means must be available for storing the devices on and adjacent the swimmers body so that they will move about unobtrusively with him and be readily available for quick recovery. When stored, the devices must not impede the swimmers mobility. Reloading of the devices on the hands must be able to be accomplished quickly, simultaneously by both hands, and by each hand independently of help from the other.

A general object of our invention, therefore, is to provide a system of apparatus for use in underwater swimming and including hand-mounted devices and storage means for them associated with or worn by the swimmer, which system includes all of the desirable features and advantages mentioned above as well as other advantages that will be apparent from the following description of a preferred and modified form of apparatus embodying our invention taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the preferred form of apparatus comprehended by our invention shown on the hand of a swimmer;

FIGURE 2 is a plan elevation view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan elevation view of a modified form of apparatus comprehended by our invention;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation view shown from a viewpoint related by to the viewpoint associated with FIGURE 3 and also showing the apparatus as mounted on a swimmers hand; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective showing a complete system of underwater swimming apparatus comprehended by our invention, including a pair of devices to be worn on the swimmers hands and a corresponding pair of storage or carrying clips for storing the devices.

The complete system of apparatus comprehended by our invention consists of a pair of devices adapted to be worn on the hands of an underwater swimmer and a cooperating pair of clips or hooks intended to be worn by the swimmer as on a belt fastened about his waist. The device to be worn on each hand is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 and each clip or hook is identified generally by the reference numeral 11.

As shown in various of the figures, the device 10 which the swimmer wears on each hand comprises a large thin working plate or disc 12, a smaller thin retaining plate 14 and connecting and spacing means 15tending to hold the two plates in a spaced apart and generally parallel relationship as shown in FIGURE 3. A U-shaped fitting 16 is attached to and cooperates with large working plate 12 as will be described below.

The large plate or disc 12 has two opposite large area faces 17 and 18. Face 17 is adapted to be placed against the palm and extended fingers and thumb of the swimmers hand as shown in FIGURES l, 5 and 6. Plate 12 is preferably thin and relatively stiff. We prefer that circular form for working plate 12, though other shapes can be used. Also, we prefer to make working plate 12 of a transparent material such as some one of the wellknown unbreakable clear plastic materials. We have, however, made successful models embodying our invention of aluminum sheet approximately .040 inch thick. In its preferred circular form, a working plate or disc 12, approximately ten inches in diameter, has been successfully employed.

Smaller retaining plate -14 is also preferably circular in plan form and of a relatively stiff, yet thin, sheet material. It may be made of material corresponding to that used for working plate 12. When retaining plate 14 is circular, it should be large enough to overlie the adjacent knuckles and finger joints of the hand of the wearer.

The two plates 12 and 14 are held in a spaced apart relationship by connecting and spacing means 15 comprising a bolt 19 passing .through a centrally located hole in retaining plate 14 andan eccentrically located hole in working plate 12. Surrounding bolt 19 and standing between plates 12 and 14 is a section of rubber bushing or tubing 20. A nut 21 turned onto bolt 19 and against the face of retaining plate 14 holds the two plates in a spaced apart relation-ship with each other as determined by the rubber bushing between them. In one successful model of hand device 10, the spacing between the plates is approximately one inch.

U-shaped fitting 16 stands on face 18 of working plate 12 aligned with a chord of the circular outline of plate 12 and quite close to the edge of the plate. Fitting 16 is also located in .a direction from the center of plate 12 that is substantially opposite the direction of offset of connecting and spacing means 15 from its center. Fitting 16 comprises a fixed open loop having its open sides facing toward and away from the center of working plate 12 and along the surface of face '18 of the plate. A form we have found successful is clearly shown in FIG- URE 3, is rather squarish in appearance and can be described as having two post portions 22 standing generally perpendicular to face 18 of the plate .and spaced apart along .a chord of its circular outline and a straight top portion 23 extending between and connecting the tops of the two post portions 22 together. Fitting 16 looks like a handle.

Clip or hooks 11, as shown in FIGURE 6, consist of strap material shaped in a flattened S form. The foldedback portion at one end of the clip is closed and forms a fiat loop so that a belt or other means of attaching the clips to the swimmer may be passed through it. At the other end of the clip, there is a portion 24 folded back in the opposite direction and provided with a rolled end 25 for contacting midportion 26 of the clip. We have made and successfully used clips made of one-inch wide beryllium copper bands or straps 0.032 inch thick, precipitation hardened. We have found this material to have good elastic qualities and, indeed, the clip is spring biased in a normally closed position with the rolled end portion 25 formed for spring-urged engagement with midportion 26 of the clip.

The belt shown in FIGURE 6 may be any suitable belt. Underwater divers wearing bottled air supplies generally require weights which they often wear on webbing belts. This weight belt may be conveniently used to carry the spring clips 11 of our system of swimming apparatus.

In use, the hand devices 10 are worn by or fitted to the hand of the swimmer by sliding the open hand, pain down, onto working plate 12 and against face 17 so that connecting .and spacing means 15 stands between two adjacent fingers of the hand and retaining plate 14 overlies (the knuckles and adjacent joints of the fingers on each side of the connecting and spacing means 15. Preferably, connecting and spacing means 15 .are placed at the base of and between the first and second fingers as shown most clearly in FIGURES l and 6. When a circular plate, approximately ten inches in diameter, is used for working plate 12 and connecting and spacing means 15 are located approximately one and one-half inches from the center of working plate 12, the periphery of working plate 12 in the region of the finger tips of an average adult wearer is spaced away from the approximately an inch or less. This assumes that connecting and spacing means 15 is fitted close against the crotch between two fingers. The center of working plate 12 is approximately at the center of the palm of the wearers hands. That portion of the circular outline of working plate 12 opposite or away from the finger tips crosses .the wearers arm just on the elbow side of his wrist. Face 17 lies against or next to the inside of the wearers wrist. Working plate 12 is rotationally oriented so that fitting 16 lies opposite and adjacent to the inside of the wearers wrist.

With the hand in place as described above, retaining plate 14 tends to be tipped as shown in FIGURE 5 by the greater thickness of the wearers hand at the knuckles than at the finger joints adjacent thereto. The tipping of retaining plate 14 is resisted by compression developed in rubber bushing 20. This resilient resistance to tipping exhibited by retaining plate 14 provides a substantial and effective means for gripping and wedging engaging the hand device 10 on the hand of a swimmer. The extent of this resistance to tipping can be varied by adjusting the length of the rubber bushing 20 and/or the degree of precompression applied to it. Squeezing the fingers together on each side of and next to connecting and spacing means 15 also helps to hold devices 10 on the hands. In operation, the gripping effect can be enhanced and/or adjusted and variedas desired by arching or flattening the hand. It will be seen that a normal hand, when relaxed in an open position, and placed upon a fiat surface such as working plate 12, tends to form a bridge between the finger tips and the heel of the hand with the palm and the base of the fingers clear of the fiat surface. The resiliently-acting retaining means of our hand device 10 takes full advantage of this bridging tendency and uses it to provide a simple and effective means for holding working plate 12 on the hand. The full advantage of this means of fastening working plate 12 to the swimmers hand will be explained below.

It will be apparent that bolt 19 limits the maximum distance between the central point of retaining plate 14 and the eccentric point of attachment on working plate 12. While we prefer the connecting and spacing means 15 as shown and described, our invention comprehends an equivalent arrangement in which a rubber bushing might have its opposite ends attached to appropriate points on plates 12 and 14 and in which one of the plates might be provided with a post standing inside the bushing and having endwise abutting engagement with the other of the plates. The post would limit the minimum spacing between the attached points on the two plates and the rubber bushing would provide resilient resistance to the tipping of one plate relative to the other by acting in tension or tension and compression.

From the foregoing description of the manner of putting on a hand device 10 comprehended by our invention and the manner and means for retaining it on the hand, it will be apparent that the device can be easily fitted to the hand by a single motion, assuming the device is fixed or otherwise prevented from moving. When swimming with hand devices 10 in place on the swimmers hands, many of the common and conventional strokes and/or motions of the arms and hands may be employed to propel the swimmer under water. We have found, in particular, that the breast stroke arm motion is highly effective. When the swimmer is pulling with the arms, working plates 12 are easily positioned in an attitude providing the maximum interaction of face 18 with the water. When the arms are being returned following the completion of a propelling stroke or motion or the hands are to be moved with the least effort possible, working plates 12 are positioned in an attitude so that they move edgewise through the water. The use of thin plates thus produces a useful advantage.

While swimming under water, it is ofttime necessary and/or desirable for the diver or swimmer to free his hands of the device 10 in order to use his hands for purposes other than propelling himself. The need for releasing his hands from the hand devices can often occur suddenly and need to be accomplished quickly. The books or clips 11 comprising our system of swimming apparatus provides a simple and effective means for receiving hand devices and storing them ready for recovery by the swimmer. By a motion of the hand along the side of the body and toward a clip 11, the swimmer can engage fitting 16 on each of the hand devices 10 in one of the spring-biased clips or hooks 11. When hooking hand devices 10 into clips 11, the devices are brought wardly along the sides of the body until fitting 16 engaes the fiat portion of the clip above the outwardly pitched end portion 25 of each clip 11. Upon further downward motion, the fitting 16 strikes the rolled end 25 of the clip, the opening or mouth of the clip is forced open and passes through the fixed open loop formed by fitting 16 and working plate 12. The hand may be released from the device as stored in the clip by flattening the hand and withdrawing it from under retaining plate 14. The spring bias tending to keep the mouth of the clip closed in strong enough to hold the device against any unhooking force applied to it by withdrawal of the hand. When the swimmer desires to put the hand device 10 on his hand again, he needs only to slide his open and slightly flattened hand, palm down, against face 17 of the working plate with two fingers on either side of connecting and spacing means 15. Clips 11 positively hold hand devices 10 hanging from them against movement as the hand is wedgingly engaged between working plate 10 and retaining plate 14. Because each hand device 10 is adapted to be attached to and hang down from a clip 11 at a point near the edge of the hand devices working plate 12, engagement of spacing and connecting means by the hand during a hand motion generally downward and away from clip 11 causes the hand device to automatically align and orient itself in its correct and proper position on the hand of the wearer as described herein. Then, with a little extra bridging of the hand to insure the grip of retaining plate 14 and an arcuate motion of the hand generally around clip 11 as a center, each hand device can be turned out of its spring clip 11 and is immediately ready for use.

The motions required to store the. hand devices 10 on clips 11 of the system of apparatus, to remove the hand devices from the hands, to reload the devices onto the hands and to remove the devices from their storage position on the clips are all natural, easy motions well within the .ability of normal people to .accomplish them, even without visual reference to the apparatus. This ability to operate without visual reference is important because of the limited field of view that is afforded by many face masks used in underwater swimming as well as the demands for the swimmers attention in underwater emergencies. Load-ing of the hand devices, for example, is accomplished easily and quickly because it naturally requires their movement in an edge-on attitude, minimizing resistance to their motion through the water. The very simplicity of the apparatus produces this worthwhile advantage that can be. most important to an underwater swimmer or diver facing an underwater emergency.

It will be noted that the offset relationship of the connecting and spacing means 15 to the center of working plate 12 permits the use of a fairly large working plate without unduly loading .the ends of the fingers with forces produced -by interaction with the water on those plate areas extending beyond .the finger tips. In addition, it increases the hydroynamic stability on the return stroke. The offset arangemen-t also permits a plate of circular form to extend rearwardly to and even slightly beyond the wrist to reduce the leverage of any load imposed on this joint by the device.

The location of fittings 16 near the edge of hand devices 10 insures that the hand devices, when stored in clips 11, will lie or hang smoothly against the swimmers body at all times and trail easily in the Water to provide minimum resistance to the forward motion of the swimmer through the water. This positioning of fittings 16 also working in conjunction with the relative direction of the loading motion of the hand insures that devices 10 shall be properly oriented with respect to the wearers hand when they are put on while hanging in clips 11. The entire system cooperates .to provide a system of apparatus for underwater swimming that is highly efficient, simple to operate and use, incorporates a high degree of safety and includes all of the desirable features of ope-ration of such apparatus such as quick and easy putting on and taking olf of the devices by one hand alone.

A modified form of the apparatus whose structure and operation have been described above is shown in FIG- URE 4. This form of hand device 10 is similar in substantially all respects to the preferred form of hand device shown in the other figures of the drawings and like parts of the preferred and modified forms have been identified by the same reference numerals.

In the modified form, however, working plate 12 is provided with a pair of finger holes 27 spaced radially from connecting and spacing means 15 toward the nearer periphery or outline of plate 12 and circumferentially from each other.

It will be apparent, by comparison of working plate 12 provided with two finger holes 27 as shown in FIGURE 4 and the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1, that finger holes 27 are arranged and adapted to receive the tips of the fingers lying on either said of connecting and spacing means 15. Finger holes 27 are preferably located so that only a small part of the end of a finger extends through them, such as the tip portion beyond the last joint. The finger holes 27 do not change or modify the operation of the device as described above, but they do add to the security of its gripping and wedging engagement of the hand. Also, they tend to index the disc with respect to the hand in its correct position for use and facilitate the positioning of the device relative to the clip as the swimmer slides the disc into storing engagement with the clips. The finger holes also aid in removing the devices from their storage position in springbiased clips 11.

For use in conjunction with finger holes 27, a second mounting hole 28 is preferably provided in working plate 12 for permitting connecting and spacing means 15 to be adjustably moved toward and away from finger holes 27. This adjustment permits the device to accommodate different lengths of fingers. The wearer preferably adjusts the position of connecting and spacing means 15 so that his finger tips engage finger holes 27 in the manner described above.

Obviously, the dimensions of the hand device given in the description above may be varied in order to accommodate different sizes of hands and/or the swimmers desire for a device having smaller or large areas of interaction with the water. Other variations and modifications will suggest themselves. For example, clip 11 might well be attached to the swimmer by means of belts or bands passed along the swimmers upper thighs. It is also possible, particularly when the device is equipped with finger holes as in the modified form, to successfully employ non-resilient spacing means between working plate 12 and retaining plate 14.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other changes and modifications can be made in the preferred form of apparatus described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A swimming device adapted to be used on a swimmers hand and comprising a first and larger thin plate,

a second and smaller thin plate,

resilient spacing and connecting means fastened to said plates for holding them generally facing each other and spaced apart from each other and resiliently biased generally parallel to each other.

2. The swimming device according to claim 1 in which said first thin plate includes a pair of finger holes spaced radially from said spacing and connecting means and circumferentially from each other.

3. The swimming device according to claim 2 in which said spacing and connecting means is movably fastened to said first thin plate for adjustment toward and away from said finger holes.

4. The swimming device according to claim 1 in which said first thin plate includes a continuous periphery and in which sair spacing and connecting means is fastened to said first thin plate substantially closer to one of two opposite portions of said periphery.

5. The swimming device according to claim 4 in which said first thin plate is substantially circular and has a diameter at least as great as the distance across a swim- Iners hand from the wrist to the tips of the longer fingers, and in which said spacing and connecting means is spaced radially from one portion of said periphery a distance approximately equal to the length of the longer fingers of a swimmers hand.

6. The swimming device according to claim 1 in which said spacing and connecting means comprises a central tension element of fixed length for limiting the maximum spacing between said first and second thin plates at their points of connection and a resilient element for resisting in compression any tendency of one of said thin plates to tip relative to the other and any tendency to reduce spacing between said first and second thin plates.

7. The swimming device according to claim 1 in which said spacing and connecting means comprises a compression element of fixed length for limiting the minimum spacing between said first and second thin plates at their points of connection and a resilient element for resisting in tension any tendency for said plates to tip relative to each other and to separate from each other.

8. A swimming device adapted to be fitted on a swimmers hand and comprising a first, substantially circular thin plate having a diameter at least as great as the distance across a swimmers hand from the wrist to the tips of the longer fingers,

a second and smaller thin plate,

resilient spacing and connecting means fastening together a central point of said second thin plate and an eccentric point of said first thin plate and holding said plates spaced apart and resiliently biased generally parallel to each other, said spacing and connecting means comprising a central tension element of fixed length for limiting the maximum spacing between the central point of said second thin plate and the eccentric point of said first thin plate and a generally circular resilient bushing element surrounding said tension element for resisting in compression and tendency of one of said thin plates to tip relative to the other and any tendency to reduce the spacing between said thin plates.

9. A system of apparatus in aid of underwater swimming comprising a hook element adapted to be worn at a swimmers side, said hook having a mouth spring biased closed and facing away from the swimmers feet,

a thin plate element having opposite faces of substantially larger area than that of the swimmers hand for interaction with the water and resiliently biased attaching means mounted on one face of said thin plate element for resiliently holding said plate element and its said one face to and adjacent the palm side of a swimmers hand, said plate element and its attaching means being engageable by movement of a hand in one direction relative to said plate element and releasable by a relative movement of the hand in the opposite direction, loop means mounted adjacent the periphery of said thin plate element and on the face of said thin plate element opposite said attaching means, said loop means having an opening therethrough for engagement by and disengagement from said hook element upon movement of said plate relative to said hook element and in a direction generally toward and away from the swimmers feet.

It). A system of apparatus in aid of underwater swimming comprising a hook element adapted to be worn at a swimmers side, said hook having a mouth spring biased closed and facing away from the swimmers feet,

a thin plate element having opposite faces of substantially larger area than that of the swimmers hand for interaction with the water and attaching means carried on and in one face of said thin plate element for holding said plate element and its said one face to and adjacent the palm side of a swimmers hand, said plate element and its attaching means being engageable by movement of a hand in one direction relative to said plate element and releasable by a relative movement of the hand in the opposite direction, l-oop means mounted adjacent the periphery of said thin plate element and on the face of said thin plate element opposite said attaching means, said loop means having an opening therethrough for engagement by and disengagement from said hook element upon movement of said plate relative to said hook element in a direction generally toward and away from the swimmers feet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,745,119 5/1956 Whipple 9-307 FOREIGN PATENTS 75,164 6/1917 Switzerland.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

ALFRED E. CORRIGAN, Examiner. 

1. A SWIMMING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE USED ON A SWIMMER''S HAND AND COMPRISING A FIRST AND LARGE THIN PLATE, A SECOND AND SMALLER THIN PLATE, RESILIENT SPACING AND CONNECTING MEANS FASTENED TO SAID PLATES FOR HOLDING THEM GENERALLY FACING EACH OTHER AND SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER AND RESILIENTLY BIASED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER. 